ADVENTURES WITH COREY

When I woke up Saturday morning, Corey asked me what I wanted to do, since Madison was with her Daddy and his kids were with their Mom. We decided to go on one of "Corey's Adventures". Now let me explain "Corey's Adventures". When you leave on an adventure with Corey, you seem to have a somewhat plan of where you're heading but usually something or someone may change the route. His adventures are always quite interesting, comical, dangerous, fun, different, always full of excitement, but most important, time well spent together! We've both always been adventurous and love the outdoors so it's always fun and we usually have several great laughs!

We decided we wanted to see snow...not a dusting but the beautiful deep snow, like we use to have when we were children. We figured we'd head towards Spruce Knob and have an awesome view of the beautiful West Virginia mountains. Notice I said we would "head towards Spruce Knob". While I was getting ready, Corey made a couple phone calls and one was to his Mamaw Wanda. She mentioned it might be pretty to see Blackwater Falls in the snow. We pondered on the idea and decided we'd still head towards Spruce Knob and see it first and then we'd go from there. The closer we got to Elkins, WV, we started seeing signs for Blackwater Falls so we decided to change our route. I typed it into the GPS and off we were to Blackwater Falls. The more we drove, the heavier the snow. It was absolutely beautiful!


We arrived at Blackwater Falls and we were like little kids. As you know from my previous blogs, we both love the snow! The hike down was gorgeous! There was probably 10-12 inches of snow on the ground. You could already here the rumble of the falls half way down and then we finally saw it. We were both amazed and could not believe how beautiful it was! The water was roaring on both sides of the falls but in the middle it was completely frozen. It was breath taking to see! Here are a few shots of the falls:







After our beautiful adventure to the falls, we decided to ask in the gift shop, how close we were to either Seneca Rocks or Spruce Knob. The woman inside told us we'd never make it before dark. Let me back up...this was around 2:30 PM. We didn't think we were that far away after looking at our map so we decided to type it into our GPS and both places were only about 30 miles away from Blackwater Falls. Its sad that the woman in the gift shop didn't realize how close she was to some of the prettiest country side and landmarks in WV.


So soon after we had left Blackwater Falls, we made it to Seneca Rocks. It was surprising to see that there was hardly any snow on the ground. Seneca Rocks amazed me because it looks like it is paper thin. Corey has seen people climbing it in the summer time and watched people walk along the top of it. I don't think I could be that brave because it looks as if it could crumble at any time.


After Seneca Rocks, we headed to Spruce Knob which is the highest point in WV. Once again, the more we drove the deeper the snow. Let me remind you again...Corey's adventures are ALWAYS surprising and the "hold on to your seat kind of adventure". Well this one beat everything we've done! At the bottom of the mountain we see a sign that read "No Snow Removal Beyond This Point". We both agree to continue up the mountain although it is completely snow covered and Corey's truck did not have 4 wheel drive. We slipped and slid a few times but nothing major. The ride up we both talked about how silly we were to be doing this but it was fun and a beautiful view to see! We get almost 100 feet away from the very top of the mountain and we see a small car stuck in the snow. We of course stop because we can't get around him and Corey gets out of the truck to see if he can be of help. The guy in the car had hit a snow drift and it was too deep for his car to get through. After a couple of attempts, he was able to back down the mountain enough to let us continue up the mountain. I guess I should say...TRY to continue up the mountain. We get back in the truck and start back up the mountain. Remember, we're only 100 feet from reaching the top so we are extremely high at this point. Well, we hit the ruts that the guy had made and we start sliding towards the edge of the mountain. Corey tries everything he can do to get us unstuck but yet we keep getting closer and closer to the edge of the mountain. I'm screaming my head off and he's yelling at me to be quiet. I finally jump out of the truck and run behind to see how close we were to falling off the mountain...at this point I yelled STOP!!!!!!!! He was only about one or two feet from going over the mountain.
I'm shaking at this point and he's wanting me to get back in the truck. I just knew we were going over! I have never been so scared in all of my life. For those of you that know the story, about me getting caught under an undercut rock kayaking...this was much worse! I plead with him that if we're able to back down the mountain, I'd much rather do that, than try to go any further because each time we tried to go forward, we only slid backwards. He was able to get us backed up and not as close to the edge of the mountain as we were. We start backing up and hoping we'll find a place to be able to turn around and then in the rear view mirror Corey sees the silly little car that was stuck earlier, coming right back up the mountain. It reminded me of the book, The Little Red Caboose.
Let me just tell you, the guy in the car was an idiot for trying to attempt this again. I would never in a million years try to reach the top of Spruce Knob in the snow! We finally found a turn around spot and were headed back in the right direction. An hour later, we made it safely down to the bottom. Corey won't admit it but I know he was just as scared as I was! I just knew we'd see on the news the next day where a man in a silver car slid off the top of Spruce Knob or maybe even froze to death. I'd love to know if he made it to the top. We weren't sticking around to find out though!

After that crazy adventure, we decided we had just enough day light time to make it to Green Bank, WV to see the astronomy satellites...Big Ears. It was a really cool sight. The largest one is the width and height of the length of a football field. I was hoping we'd make it there in time to go in the museum but it was closing right as we got there.


All in all we had a great adventure day. We drove over 500 miles, were in and out of the car for a total of 11 hours and the high that day was 19 degrees. Many of you might say we're crazy for even leaving the house on such a cold day but look at all the places we were able to see and all the memories we made! Honestly, I'm glad to be able to tell you that I made it off of Spruce Knob in one piece! (HaHaHa) I love our adventures together because it's usually just the two of us and we talk about everything...nature, the view and scenery, wild life, and we always share funny stories. Plus, it gives me something to blog about! I always tell Corey, that one day I'm going to write a book and call it "Corey's Adventures" . I'm sure I could win a prize or two. For now, I'll just blog them and give everyone a good laugh.
Until our next adventure....